I would like to add this and, perhaps, get some feedback. Maybe I am thinking too much...? Please, correct me in any way where I may be wrong.
Here goes...
Focusing only on the death of Judas as the alleged issue, (Mt.27:5) is the definitive conclusion: "he hung himself" with the obvious implication of death. What, then, is Luke saying in (Ac.1:18)?
One thing to notice is that (Ac.1:18-19) is a parenthetical note by Luke to the reader, i.e., additional information on (Mt.27:5-8). Some interpreters take the phrase "falling headlong" as Judas having a misadventure (e.g. slipping off the cliff) and fell to his death, but this phrase doesn't necessarily imply he had to be alive (conjecture). If I kill a man and drag his lifeless body 15ft., I just drug him 15ft. Therefore, (Ac.1:18) is not saying what happened to Judas prior to his death or even at that very moment in the narrative. The text itself doesn't have the implication that he died from the fall; only what his body went through after "falling headlong."
There is simply not enough context in (Ac.1:18) to substantiate a contradiction. It certainly doesn't point to a living or non-living person, hence the corollary (Mt.27:5) which does indicate death. In fact, the text in (Ac.1:18) leaves open a massive gap..."Now this man acquired a field was the reward of his wickedness...and falling headlong..." This means a lot of information is missing, information was don't have.
Bart Erhman, in a debate with Peter J. Williams (YouTube @ 44:00 mark), gets stuck on the phrase "falling headlong." He says, "If someone is hanging and the rope snaps, how do they fall? Do they fall head first? To reconcile it, you have to come up with a completely implausible scenario." He goes on to say that Judas "somehow" fell headlong.
I believe we all wonder as to what specifically happened, but our understanding brings us to vastly different conclusions. We would agree that the context is lacking in Acts to tell Bart what he wants to know and what he's saying is that because there's not enough information there, it's a contradiction.
Is this not absurd thinking without all of the facts?
— what material did he hang himself with?
— how strong was the material?
— did the material break, unravel, slide off, burn off etc.?
— what exactly caused the material to separate?
— did he jump, swing from a ledge, step off of a stool etc.?
— was he hung from a tree branch, beam, a structure?
— where precisely did he hang himself?
— how high/low was he from the ground while hanging?
— does a rotten body "burst" simply falling in a field?
— how long was Judas hanging for?
— could the material have been cut/burned to avoid touch?
— could a Roman have transported his body off of a cliff?
The only information Matthew gives us is, "he departed, and went and hanged himself." (v.7) says the priests took Judas's blood money and purchased a field, assuming Judas's body landed or was buried there....?
It is estimated that between (Mt.27:5) and (Ac.1:18) was around a 40-50 day lapse.
According to CSCU, their article points out that the decomposition process, without embalming fluid, when a body is in a neutral climate, not in a coffin, and remains undisturbed:
* 3hrs postmortem = stiffening of muscles (rigor mortis)
* 24-72hrs postmortem = internal organs begin to decompose due to cell death, emitting pungent odors
* 3-5 days postmortem = as organs continue to decompose, body fluids leak from orifices, skin turns greenish color
* 8-10 days postmortem = body turns from green to red as blood decomposes and gases accumulate
* 2+ weeks postmortem = teeth and nails fall out
* 1+ month postmortem = the corpse begins to liquefy into a dark sludge
* skeletonization
.....although human decomposition is a natural process, cleaning up a decomposing body presents health hazards to everyone around it."
It is well understood that Judas's body was practically baking under the sun in Jerusalem, which only speeds up the process.
"Putrefaction speeds up when the body is in a hot environment, which is why human remains are often kept in refrigerators until the time of their burial" (LiveScience).
